Gaby Coello knows what it feels like to be treated like a terrorist. She knows what it feels like to dislocate her thumb. She also knows what it feels like to miss out on the first three weeks of her final semester at Bowling Green State University and all the classes, practices and tennis road trips and that go with it. But the native of Guayaquil, Ecuador, also knows how to stay focused and positive. She does it every day.

When Coello, a senior on the women’s tennis team at BGSU, dove for a ball in a match two weeks ago, she was focused on winning the point. She knew the only way to get the point was to get on the ground. So she did–but dislocated her thumb in the process.

“The minute I got on the ground I heard it crack,” Coello said. “I won the point, but when I stood up and looked at my hand I could tell it was not right.”

Coello wore a half cast for the weekend after x-rays did not show the dislocation. Last Monday, she was referred to an orthopedic who surgically put the tendons and ligaments of her thumb back into place.

She will be stuck in a cast for four weeks and away from competition for at least two weeks more while she rehabilitates the joint.

“In exactly two months is the MAC Tournament, so I’m hoping that I can get better before that so I can play in the MAC tournament,” Coello said. “I’ll be back in six weeks — it’s my hope — I don’t know if it will happen.”

Her recent thumb injury has not been the only thorn for Coello this semester. She was delayed entering the country for three weeks following winter break.

The root of the problem goes back six years to when Coello’s passport was stolen in Ecuador. Her United States visa was with it. In January of 2003 Coello came to the states through the Houston Airport and found out that someone had tried to use her passport in Houston.

“They caught me there and kept me in this room for hours, asking questions and getting my fingerprints and everything,” Coello said. “They let me go after they compared the fingerprints and mine did not match.”

What she did not know then was that on Jan. 1, 2004 immigration laws changed. One law stated that if for any reason a person got fingerprints taken in the United States, that person would have to get their fingerprints taken in his or her home country.

After spending her winter break in Ecuador, Coello was at the airport this January, ready to come back to Bowling Green to finish her senior year, to conclude her collegiate tennis career and to get her degree in management information systems.

While going through customs at the airport in Ecuador, she was told she wouldn’t be able to get into the U.S., that she would need to go to the embassy.

“So I went to the embassy to see what was going on, and the consulate told me I couldn’t leave because of these new laws, that I had to get my fingerprints taken in the consulate in Ecuador and that process takes two and a half weeks, at least,” Coello said.

Once informed of Coello’s situation, officials at the embassy said they could expedite the process, which usually takes four to eight weeks, and have Coello back as soon as they could.

“She was very upset at first, but she settled down and dealt with it,” said Coello’s coach at Bowling Green, Penny Dean. “I just told her that the only thing she could control during that time was to practice tennis. She really did a good job of that. When she did get back she was in good tennis shape.”

So Coello waited at home, turning her focus completely to tennis and a management class she was taking. During the first two weeks she spent most of her day playing tennis. She did conditioning from 9 to 10 a.m., then played tennis from 10 a.m. to noon. After an afternoon break, she would condition again from 3 to 4 p.m., then play tennis from 4 to 6 p.m. She did this every day, until the embassy called after three weeks and told her she could enter the country. Once she got that call, she was on the first plane to the U.S.

“I missed her a ton because as a coach your seniors are the mainstay of your team, and you’re close to them, and you know that you’re going through your last semester with them, and then all of a sudden we were missing three weeks of that,” Dean said. “For her, as a senior, you’re making your last trip to certain places. It’s the last go-around to see the different teams and players and coaches, and she missed out on some of that.”

During her first weekend back, Coello played in two matches. A match in Cincinnati showed her just how good it felt to be back with her team. She teamed up with Ashley Jakupcin to win a close match at the No. 2 doubles position. Then she fell to Cincinnati’s Julie Klauck in a close three-set match at the No. 4 singles slot.

“That felt awesome being back playing that weekend. It was a very good match [at Cincinnati],” Coello said. “I was really pumped up for that match too because I was so happy to do well.”

Coello has now turned her focus to getting her thumb better so she can be ready for the MAC Championships which begin April 22 in DeKalb, Ill.

One thing that might help her beat the odds — and the doctor’s projected recovery time — is her focus and positive attitude. Her coach sees it in her as do her teammates.

“She just has a very good attitude and always tries to pick everybody up. She’s very positive,” team captain Lisa Maloney said of Coello. “I went to go see her after the surgery, and right away she said, ‘I’ll be back, and I’ll be ready for MAC.’ She’s not going to give up.”